Music lyrics and society (Yefri Tuabodom song)

abocco

Has anyone heard this TuabÉ”dÉ”m song by Nkasei?
Apparently, the song is a remix of an older version that talks about a teacher from TuabÉ”dÉ”m (in the Brong Ahafo region) leading his students to a students' congress in Kumasi. In the song, it talks about the Tuabodom citizens being villagers and not knowing much about big city life.

Big deal? Yeah, TuabÉ”dÉ”m citizens led by their queenmother have called for the song to be banned, because it ridicules them.

Do they have a point? Isn't it a just song? Should Nkasei apologise for ridiculing them?

Check out the lyrics here
and the following news stories
Tuabodom citizens bare teeth
The Tuabodom song

Submitted by abocco on Tue, 07/12/2005 - 21:30.

Comments

Obiradze (not verified)

Yeah, I heard about the

Yeah, I heard about the uproar. In fact, to the extent that Nkasei offended Tuabodom for no reason at all, they should probably apologise as a PR move.

Wed, 07/13/2005 - 17:27

thinfox

i don't think banning the

i don't think banning the song is the answer. afterall, we're a free thinking society so you're bound to get some good and some bad stuff out of it. the most effective way to deal with this is to mount a campaign that exposes these guys as just being plain ignorant. that'll probably cast the group in a bad light and pretty much hurt them in the long run.

Mon, 07/18/2005 - 00:13

dudess

I agree, thinfox. If we have

I agree, thinfox. If we have embraced freedom of speech, we must accept the bad with the good. Still, I find the song offensive just from what I've heard about it. I agree that concerned citizens should talk about this, air their opinions in as many forums as they have access to, in order to prevent negative stereo-typing and unnecessary divisions in Ghanaian society.

Tue, 08/02/2005 - 02:42

msnu

There's the isssue of Libel

There's the isssue of Libel (which is a legal matter should the people of Tuabodom choose to go that way). Freedom of speech comes with responsibilities; you can't just say anything, especially unsubstantiated defamatory things, simply because you can. That's why there are laws to protect everyone's freedom.

What exactly do our laws say about these things anyway and does anyone know if there's an online archive of Ghana's constitution and other legal publications?

Tue, 08/02/2005 - 19:59

dudess

Found the Ghanaian

Found the Ghanaian constitution online: http://www.ghanareview.com/Gconst.html.

Tue, 08/09/2005 - 18:01

abocco

TuabÉ”dÉ”m concert

The song would have been 'fine' if a 'real' town hadn't been used, but the song does ridicule Tuabodom citizens. Nkasei has constantly said it wants to entertain, but I think that in stepping on the toes on TuabÉ”dÉ”m citizens, it went a little too far. I think Nkasei and MUSIGA (Musicians Association of Ghana) should come out and dialogue with TuabÉ”dÉ”m and try to resolve this issue.

This is a good step in that direction.
Read on

GhanaWeb News - 8/13/05
Mr Yeboah (an Nkasei member) said a committee had been set up by Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) to meet the elders of TuabÉ”dÉ”m, the town, which featured prominently in the lyrics, to settle whatever problems, might have arisen as a result of the song. He said Nkasei would then follow suit and organize a live concert in the town and proceeds of the show donated to the town.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/artikel.php?ID=87928.

TuabÉ”dÉ”m's about to get richer!

The destiny of a nation at any given time depends on the opinions (and actions) of its young men and women.

Sat, 08/13/2005 - 16:33

abocco

Yefri Tuabodom is not a new song

Thanx Michelle, for the constitution link.
I found out recently that this Tuabodom song is not original (by Nkasei), but a remix of a very old song. In fact, students in Kumasi sang this song as 'jama'/cheer songs routinely throughout the years. So, Nkasei just made use of 'jama', caught some controversy and laughed its way to the bank.

In the meantime, Tuabodom is going international. It seems it is actually benefitting from the publicity. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4349884.stm

The destiny of a nation at any given time depends on the opinions (and actions) of its young men and women.

Sat, 10/22/2005 - 09:07

David (not verified)

I don't see why everyone is

I don't see why everyone is offended. The song was done in fun. Every one of us was teased growing up, did any of us think of suing for libel? Besides the song has put Tuabodom on the map. Now, if you do a google search on Tuabodom, you get more than 200 hits. I am going to go and see if I can get Nkasei to make a song about my hometown.

Fri, 11/04/2005 - 22:07

BEERAT (not verified)

sad thign is dat anyone

sad thign is dat anyone who have values of culture will not take dis as a joke or a song...i took it in the beging as a song until my uncle who is a highly educated man ..explain it to me well.. which now i take it to be an insult....culture is sumthing u belong to so u shld understand when dese ppl r askin for apologies n banned on the song...maybe they shld have states their words correctly
cos we all kno dats in not the capital of beiekum .. so for dose of u who thinks is nutthin big.. i hope y'all dont mind to go fetch ur selfs.

Fri, 11/18/2005 - 02:34

abocco

Lyrics, towns and the aftermath

Beerat, I get your point.
I think it comes down to a choice of words for the Tuabodom song.
Then again, the song may not have been that popular, it flew its away to the bank on the wings of controversy. It's going for song of the year at the Ghana Music Awards now

Similarly, Ofori Amponsah made a song that mentions 'Bonwire' (the famous town where kente is made), and it hasn't become that popular. At least, the Ghana Music Awards organizers are recognising it as a well written song

The hullabaloo about Tuabodom has died down, and I think the town stands to benefit. I was there in January and it is in pretty good shape, a far cry from what the song says. Tuabodom benefitted from my curiosity. It saddens me that I didn't contribute anything to its economy; could have purchased some Tampico, waakye and Tuabodom souvenirs (if they had any).

The destiny of a nation at any given time depends on the opinions (and actions) of its young men and women.

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